Hundreds still waiting on school admission appeals

HUNDREDS of parents in Kimberley are still awaiting the outcome of their appeals to the Northern Cape Department of Education on the admission of their children to schools in the city.

Several parents were hot under the collar yesterday as the department said that it was still processing more than 500 admission appeals and parents could expect the outcomes this week.

The parents are still in the dark about where their children will attend school next year.

Parents who approached the media yesterday said they had applied to various schools but their applications had been rejected and they were forced to appeal at the Office of the MEC or the district office.

A father of a Grade 8 pupil accused the department of continually putting parents through the same trauma every year.

“The situation has been exactly the same for several years. There were parents who were faced with the same problem last year. This year again we have to go through the same process. Hundreds of pupils had to stay at home at the beginning of this year because the department said there was no space available in schools. This year we have to hear the same song again. Why can the department not come up with a solution once and for all?

“Now we as parents are put under enormous stress regarding an issue that the department should have prepared for and resolved long ago. It is so frustrating,” he said.

According to the parent involved, he applied at two different schools, namely Northern Cape High School and Kimberley Girls’ High School, but had been rejected at both schools.

“We had to appeal the outcome of our application in September this year. The department promised that it would have an outcome on the appeal by the end of November. However, no one ever got back to us.

“I called and went to the district office personally and they told me they were closing. The Office of the MEC indicated that they would be contacting parents regarding their appeals and we should be patient. We have been patient for months now and there still seems to be no outcome,” he said.

Another parent, Leticia Brink, said the matter was being resolved at a snail’s pace.

“We were rejected by two high schools in the city. I am not certain what will happen to my Grade 8 child or where she will be placed. What is worrisome is that we heard there are some parents who were allocated space at schools despite them appealing after us. The department denied that it had contacted any parents and it would only do so this week. We are not certain if that is entirely true though. For now we have to go through the agony of waiting for the outcome of our appeal,” said Brink.

Northern Cape Department of Education spokesperson, Geoffrey van der Merwe, said the department is working hard on the matter.

“The Office of the MEC received a total of 575 appeals and parents will be informed during the course of this week regarding the outcomes of their appeals. Most of the appeals were not submitted within the stipulated seven-day period, after parents received their rejection letters from schools in October. We must also report that the Office of the MEC is still receiving appeals with close to 200 appeals submitted after November 25.

“We have indicated from the onset to parents that we will not be able to guarantee them a school of their preference due to the available spaces at certain schools. All schools are busy finalising the promotion and progression of pupils, which has also contributed to the delay in pupil placement, especially in the middle grades,” Van der Merwe said.

“We have committed ourselves to finalise most, if not all, pupil placements before the schools close on Friday (December 14). The Frances Baard District office has already started contacting parents to provide alternative placement for pupils. We further encourage parents to work with us to speedily resolve the placement of pupils,” added Van der Merwe.